Soul of Red Eyes
by magnolia glass
Summary: Can the past fix the present? All Jounouchi wanted was to defeat his long time rival, Seto Kaiba. But he may have bitten off more than he could chew when he took something that wasn't his. Now he's trapped in a time very different from his and may not be able to get home...
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

With the way things ended at Duelist Kingdom, Jounouchi knew he should be satisfied. Considering the sheer miracle of how well things turned out he should just take his happy ending and be happy. After all, he and Yugi both ended up getting what they went for. Old Granpa Motou was back at Kame Game Shop as eccentric as ever and Shizuka would be getting her eyes operated on within the month. She had called all excited and confirmed it herself. He hadn't heard anything from their mom and hadn't expected to. She made it pretty clear how much she cared about him when she left him with her alcoholic ex-husband knowing full well the man couldn't be trusted to raise a hamster. But at least his sister could have a stable life. That was good enough for him. He was used to being the tough one.

Yes, there was plenty to be grateful for. Which was why it felt like crap that something still nagged him. That 'something' being that smug bastard Kaiba. The fact that he'd never been able to defeat him stayed with Jounouchi like a piece of glass embedded in his skin that was just too deep to dig out. Everyone assumed that he was over his last match with Kaiba and in a since he was. He was living his life. He wasn't moping. But even though they couldn't be seen, the scars were still there. But still, with everything else that could have gone wrong how could he still be selfish enough to want more? He wanted to win. It was always Yugi that clobbered the big opponents. Sure, he knew he had been by Yugi's side through it all. But Kaiba was his main rival. He needed to defeat that guy to shut up the insecure part of himself that whispered to him that maybe money bags was right: he was still a defeated dog. He hated that part of himself. It was the kind of thinking the old Jounouchi would indulge.

Things had changed for him when Yugi had befriended him at one of the lowest parts of his life. He hadn't deserved it. He and Honda had treated Yugi like crap. All he had to do was walk away and let Ushio continue pounding the snot out of them. But Yugi had protected them instead. He'd accepted Jonouchi for who he was even when who he was wasn't much to brag about. He'd always be grateful. But he needed to feel like he could still hold his own.

Just waltzing up and challenging Kaiba to a rematch wouldn't work. Not until he fixed his strategy. There had to be a piece missing.

_Well even Yugi has a bit of help_, he thought pensively_. I mean, he has his other self._

And it was that thought that sent all the events that were about to happen into motion. He sat up straighter in his desk. Of course. Yugi had his puzzle. Kaiba had his Blue Eyes and his stupid money. (Even if he had no personality to speak of, the ass hole.) Jou had determination and no small amount of guts, so what was missing? Whatever it was, that was the answer.

He tried to brainstorm. So the card game was ancient right? They all knew it could be traced back to Egypt. And shadow magic. All he had to do was get in touch with the supernatural side of this and he could stand a chance. Come one, Yugi was so immersed in it that it was no wonder he understood the heart of the cards so well. If he got a fraction of that, he'd annihilate Kaiba!

The bell rang making him jump. Yugi seemed to mirror Jounochi's relief that classes for the day were finally over.

"Hey, Granpa gave me some extra money. Want to grab a burger? I'll buy."

Burgers! No wonder he looked happy. If only he didn't have a grand scheme to set in motion….

"I'm sorry, man." he winced. "I have to pass. I gotta run some errands for my Dad today. I already blew it off once and he's been all over my case since."

"I'll go with you." Yugi offered. "We'll get them done, then grab something after."

Damn. Now what? He trusted Yugi, but he just didn't want to get him involved in this. It was his problem and though it might not be important to anyone else, it was a big deal to him. But he didn't want his best friend knowing how much this thing with Kaiba was still bothering him. He spotted Anzu out of the corner of his eye as she was gathering her books and got an idea.

He raised his brows slyly. "You sure, man? Anzu doesn't have dance club today. You want to pass up a fine opportunity like that to run some dull errands for my old man?"

Predictably, Yugi went as red as a brick. "W-what?!"

"Oh come on, dude." He gave said good friend a patronizing look. "It's been obvious since Duelist Kingdom that you like her."

Actually it was Honda that had to point it out to him, but Yugi didn't need to know that. Without waiting for a response he called out, "Hey Anzu! Yugi wants to know if you'd want to go get a burger with him!"

Yugi's jaw dropped and it looked like he might scream but no sound game out. Anzu drifted over.

"Sure, I'd love to go. It's been a while since I ate out." she beamed at Yugi who was still very red.

He placed a hand on the smaller boy's should and put his mouth very close to his ear. "No need to thank me."

And with that he bolted. Yugi would be oblivious to anything else but his crush for the rest of the evening now. He scrounged up what little money he was carrying for the bus. He silently mourned the loss of a free hamburger plus money that he could spend on real food instead of going home and braving whatever lived his refrigerator now. But he needed to get to the museum.

When he got there he walked through the double doors with a sense of purpose. He was a man on a mission. There would be something here that would help him and he was not going home until he found it. It was packed with tons of old Egyptian stuff in here. He was sure to tap into whatever mojo he needed it he looked around hard enough. He grinned a trademark Jounouchi Katsuya grin and made his way to an exhibit of stone carvings and hieroglyphics. And it looked like they had gotten some new stuff.

He stood in front of a stone slab that depicted a dragon. He was flying down from the sky. It was hard to tell with the crude drawings, but it looked like he was heading towards some kind of town. Or was it village back then? Who could tell…. The next panel showed the dragon airborne again with what looked like broken shackles hanging from it's claws. Why was it familiar.

"It's Red Eyes Black Dragon!" he realized aloud.

"You could tell it was Red Eyes?" said a deep voice behind him.

Jounouch turned to see a foreign looking man wearing white robes and a turban. Yes. A freaking turban. Despite the outlandishness he seemed familiar.

"You!" he yelled, pointing.

"That's a bit dramatic, don't you think?" came the stoic reply.

"You're the guy we saw here last time! You made Anzu into a mindless doll and turned the professor into a lunatic! You bastard, he almost killed me!"

"You I also remember." Shadi replied. "You are the uncouth little boy who accompanies the puzzle bearer."

Jounouchi clenched his fists and bared his teeth. "I'll show you uncouth buddy, you – did you call me _little_?!"

That was just plain uncalled for. Yugi was little. He might be skinny, but he was nowhere in the category of little. In the kingdom of 'little' they had never heard of him.

But Shadi was no more paying attention to Jou's rage than a squeaking mouse. His focus was back on the etchings. "You knew right away which dragon it was. That is unusual. Most people would mistake him for the Blue Eyes White Dragon."

"Red Eyes and I are partners." Jounouchi huffed, crossing his arms. "How could I not recognize him?"

"Well for one thing," Shadi pointed out. "Unlike their depiction on the cards, you cannot tell what color they are. And without that they look very similar making them hard to distinguish."

That gave him a pause. Turban head was right. There really was no way to tell. But somehow when he had looked upon that carving he'd never doubted what dragon it was.

The Egyptian gave him a knowing smile. "You're ba's connection to that monster must be strong."

"My what?"

"Your soul."

Jounouchi gave the Key bearer a sideways look. "Yeah….ok."

Suddenly Shadi's eyes shifted toward a corner where three rambunctious middle schoolers were laughing rather loudly. And apparently angling to see if they could fire spit balls at a sarcophagus without getting spotted by the security.

"Excuse me." He slinked off in the direction of the kids.

"That guy is so weird. Run kids, run."

The lights started to flicker. What was going on? A power surge? Suddenly everything shut off and Jounouchi stood in the dark. He could hear several murmurs of protest around the room and several lights appeared in the air – people clipping open their cell phones for light.

A voice sounded over a speaker. "Everyone, please be calm. We are having technical difficulties and will have to respectfully request you return when we've sorted it out. The weather has taken a turn for the worst, so we suggest you come back tomorrow. Security will help escort you out. Please form a single file near the emergency exit."

Thunder sounded soon after the announcement was done. This was odd. It was cloudy when he came in, but he didn't expect the weather would turn so quickly. Sighing he hefted his book bag onto both shoulders. Figures. Something would happen before he even got through looking at everything. Something caught the light and gleamed. A pair of scales.

He approached the item cautiously. "Where'd this come from?"

He could feel a memory coming on. These scales. He's seen them. They were a sennen item. What were they doing just sitting across from the display? Had Shadi left them? He knew he shouldn't touch them. But something was compelling about them. He could almost feel the power emanating from it.

And that's how he ended up being ushered out of the museum with his backpack weighing slightly more than usual.

_ (Thirty minutes later….)_

Oh he should not have done this. He should not have done this. Was he crazy? He had to have a death wish to pick something up that was Shadi's. He paced his room.

"He's gonna be pissed." Jounouchi trilled. "He's gonna be pissed, he's gonna be pissed and he's going to come after me with his freaky powers and his key and he's going to turn me into a drooling moron!"

Now he knew what people meant when they felt like they hadn't really been there when they did something bad. Even as he was taking it he knew better , even then he knewthat it was a bad idea , that it was wrong and he was going to be sorry. Maybe he was that desperate.

"I don't suppose you have a spirit in you that could take over and kick your boss's ass?" he asked it.

From his dresser the scales gave no response.

"I am so screwed." He buried his face in his hands.

Ok, this was what he'd do. He'd tell Shadi that he just couldn't find him after the lights shut off. And it seemed irresponsible just to leave something that powerful lying around. He'd done the right thing to at least make sure no one else grabbed it. Right?

He walked over to it and picked it up. It was heavier than it looked. But it would be, being made of real gold. "At least tell me what you do. I took the risk in taking you, at least tell me you can help me."

"It's a tool to separate the innocent from the guilty." said a familiar voice from the corner. "That scale can weigh a person's sins."

Jounouchi nearly dropped the scales. He whirled and there was Shadi. He was just standing in the corner of the doorway looking casual. Which the blonde noticed at least was better than him looking angry.

"How'd you get in?!" he demanded.

The sennen guardian did not give him a very friendly smile. He merely brought a hand to the key hanging around his neck.

"Okay, so you can open anything!" Jounouchi snapped. "But my Dad…"

"Was passed out drunk on the kitchen floor." Shadi finished. "A weak man. But we aren't having this meeting over him, are we?"

The boy paled. He held out the scales to the Egyptian. "Here. You came for this , right? I took it and it was stupid and I'm sorry and I swear I will never do anything like that again I just thought it could help and I didn't know what else to do and my whole trip was ruined and I'm sorry I wanted to give it back the moment I got on the bus and …"

Shadi held up a hand to halt Jounouchi's rambling and growingly hysterical rampage. "I get the point. But you will still have to be judged. I will not harm your father and for the time being, I won't harm you either."

The foreigner gave the boy a searching look. He seemed to be considering Jounouchi as if he were some rare and new species.

"I could force my way into your heart and rearrange it so that you are left as nothing but a raving lunatic." he said thoughtfully.

Jounouchi grabbed a bat lying in the corner with his free hand and pointed it at the Egyptian. He tried to come up with something tough to say but his voice died in his throat.

Shadi gave him a look that seemed to say 'please.' "I won't do that however. Instead I will let you atone."

"A-atone?" the blonde stammered.

"Yes. I sense you took the sennen scales for a reason. But I cannot discern just now whether your intentions were good or ill. Or either. Yet."

"I wanted to understand the heart of the cards." the boy admitted. "I know it's stupid, but a relic that old…well, I thought maybe it could lend me some help."

"You stole a powerful shadow object which you do not have the first clue know how to wield…..over a card game?" Shadi's tone stated clearly what he thought of that. The Egyptian looked incredulous. "Do you have any idea how fortunate you are to have not been driven insane?"

"Um….."

"It is that very thing that interests me." Shadi spoke over him. "Your mind is whole and the scales didn't harm you. So instead of simply punishing you and moving on, I'll give you a chance."

"What kind of chance?" Jounouchi asked nervously.

"The only one you have. Come with me."

He barely remembered the trip back to the museum. By now it would be closed even if electricity was back. And dark outside. He'd said as much to Shadi. But the man had ignored him and promptly paid both of their bus fare and been creepily silent the whole ride. And even more oddly, he had been allowed to hold on to the scales through the journey.

When they arrived at the place the doors were chained and locked.

"See, I told you." the boy said. By now he was worried and really wished Shadi would just stop dicking around and make his point.

But the man had merely raised the key. There was a glow and a feel of energy pushing through the air and the chains fell away. "Come."

"Uh….this is illegal." Jounouchi stated, following him through the doors. "You know that, right?"

"You are hardly in a position to speak of such things." came the curt reply.

They walked, the only light in the building coming off the sennen items. When the scales lit up in his arms he gave a surprised start. But it wasn't hurting him and the energy didn't feel threatening.

"I came back to this place because I was drawn here." Shadi admitted. "I assumed it was because of the new artifacts that had arrived at this museum. I like to check up on where pieces of my people's history end up in any case to be sure that they are being treated with the proper respect. But there's always a chance that the fools bring something dangerous here and that would be when I would have to step in."

They stopped at the tablets depicting the Red Eyes Black Dragon. Now they were at the picture of Red Eyes shedding his shackles. Another dragon was present, keeping the enemies at bay as the other broke free.

"That's the Blue Eyes." Jounouchi said.

"Yes. And that's not the only place he appeared. Look at the stone that is next."

It was both dragons again. Both had their head turned, bellowing flame at some unseen foe. It looked like the dragons were fighting side by side. But against what it was impossible to tell. The image was worn away.

"They're in some kind battle." Jounouchi said as he stepped closer. Almost unconsciously he reached out to press his hand to the etching of the Red Eyes, something he would never have been allowed to do during operating hours. But Shadi didn't stop him. "They fought as allies. But who won?"

"Who indeed?" the Egyptian mused. "It is time. Hold the scales and stand right there."

The boy turned to face him holding the ancient sennen item. He looked clueless for a moment and they the scales began to shake. To his horror on one side was a beating heart and other a feather. The scale continued to shake as though it could not decide which way to tip, or as if what it were holding were of equal weight.

"As I thought." Shadi looked weary. "Your fate hangs in a neutral position. It is not an auspicious time to pass judgment."

"What the hell does that mean?" Jounouchi demanded. He was still staring in absolute fear and the objects on the scales. What if the thing just decided to explode or something and take him with it?

"It means your fate must be decided through a trial." Shadi pointed his key forward.

At first Jounouchi thought he was pointing at him. But instead the tablet behind him seemed to grow less solid. And then there was nothing but a black hole behind him that seemed to get closer. It was the last thing he saw, before he vanished . The portal closed and nothing was there except the tablet once more. The scales lay on the ground where he had stood. A shadow fell over them as their owner picked them up. The guardian stared pensively at the scene before him. Now it was in the hands of Ma'at. There was nothing to do but see how this played out.

Author's commentary: Well that was fun. I wonder where Jounouchi spirited to? Just joking. I know exactly where he went, but you can probably figure it out. If not, well, please wait for chapter two.

I don't usually like to work on two stories of the same series at once, but this idea hit me with all the blunt force of a truck. Then I got so excited I had to start working on it. I actually started it on a worn notepad at work. Business has been slow so, why not? You Jou fans will like it. He's definitely going to be the hero of this story.

One of the most enticing things about this series is its characters. It's hard not to like any of them. They're all so interesting. (Well, maybe not Anzu and Honda so much. Sorry to fans of them, but without the others they kind of bore me.)

This is very different from anything I've ever written before so please let me know what you think.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

He was not sure what made him black out. Probably the damn shock. Stupid turban head. The first thing that he noticed was that the place that he was in smelled. He thought the city always smelled but this was over whelming. Old fruit and vegetables, dampness, mold, body odors that he did not want to think about a couple of other things he couldn't identify.

His eyes slowly opened. And he really wished he hadn't. This wasn't right. He was either dreaming or on the set of a movie. The houses were made with some kind of sandy mortar and probably mud too. Or clay. What was this, some third world country? The alley way was wet and he really tried not to think about how much it smelled like piss because he'd probably been sitting in it. Maybe this was just a bad part of town. He walked out and saw various people wearing robes not much unlike Shadi's. The only difference was that these people's clothes were in various states of wear. People either wore sandals or went barefoot. Some of the kids wore loin cloths or less.

Nonetheless no one looked bothered by it. This was life here, wherever here was. Kids chased each other, got yelled at by adults and people milled about the various stands and shops and basically went about their business. Vendors yelled and tried to sell their wares.

He felt something touch his back pocket. A hand! He spun and a kid was halfway through getting ready to take his pocket knife. Quick as a flash he grabbed the boy's arm. He didn't look older than seven.

"Hey! Didn't anyone ever teach you to keep your hands to yourself?" he admonished, putting on his best stern adult look.

His efforts were wasted. The kid wrestled his arm back and delivered a painful kick to Jounouchi's knee faster that the blonde had grabbed him. Midway through running he looked back over his shoulder and yelled, "And who forgot to teach you not to daydream in this part of the village?! Idiot foreigner!"

"You brat, come back and sat that to my face!" Jounouchi shouted. He groaned, clutching his leg. He straightened when he heard someone chuckling behind him.

"Lucky for you, that kid was an amateur." A guy that looked a few years older than him stood behind him. He was packing a little more muscle than some of the other people Jounouchi had observed so far. Or maybe he just wasn't starving. His white spiky hair reached his shoulders. He had a nasty looking scar on his cheek too. He was not sure he liked the predatory look he was receiving either.

"A little advice stranger," the boy continued. "Even if you are foreign, unless you have some kind of private personal guard I suggest you stop being so obvious about it. Everything gives you away: to your light skin, to the bright hair, to the ridiculous clothes and clueless expression. They'll eat you alive here."

"What is this place?" Jounouchi asked.

The white haired young man leaned close. "What is the information to you?"

Oh for the love of all things _not_ freaking insane….not ten minutes here and he was already being panhandled! And that was five minutes before he was nearly pickpocketed. What was up with this town?

"Never mind." he muttered.

The white haired young man barked out a laugh and for the first time he almost seemed approving. "You're learning. But don't be so cautious that you pass up good help. It will be the same almost everywhere you go. I have lived here for nearly four years. My information is accurate and good, even if it's not for free."

"Look, I may not be book smart – I can accept that." Jounouchi said, shrugging his shoulders. "But I'm not a complete dumbass. At least give me the name of the town and then I'll toss some money your way."

" Asha Sai. *" replied the Egytptian with a wide smirk. Jounouchi was learning not to like that expression. But he noticed it slowly changed when the blonde did not react.

"Village of remnants? The village most known to be a melting pot of refugees, Asiatics* and people that didn't exactly...…fit in with 'respectable sandal kissing society'?"

But Jounouchi was not following and the scarred man was losing his patience and interest swiftly.

"You_ are_ a stupid foreigner." the man said decisively. "Good luck surviving here. I'll take my pay now."

Sighing, the teen rummaged around his pockets until he pulled out about 400 yen* and handed it over to the man. The white haired Egyptian looked down at the money. Then slowly back at Jounouchi. His calm expression never betrayed his true feelings.

"What the fuck is this?" he said in neutral tone. His hand edged towards the knife that hung from his waist.

Alarmed Jounouchi tensed. He could not see the knife, but he had too much experience with fights in middle school when he ran with his old gang to misinterpret someone readying themselves for a fight. What he was not sure of however, was what had set the guy off.

"Money. What's the problem?"

"The problem, friend, is that you are foolish enough to try and cheat me. " the man hissed. And before he could counter or dodge Jounouchi found himself against the wall of a building and with a cold blade at his throat. "Or, you naively thought I would accept foreign currency that is _completely useless_ here."

The knife pressed hard enough to nick him. Beads of blood began to form where the knife had broken skin. This was really bad. This was not some meth head on the street that was so strung out he couldn't even punch straight or some little punk from school. This guy was bigger than him and he knew what he was doing with that dagger.

"I do not give anything away for free." the white haired man continued, leaning in close with a sadistic grin. "So if I have to turn you upside down and shake you I will. If I have to rip the very clothing from your back as payment I can arrange that too!"

Weaponless or not Jounouchi was getting pissed. He did not like threats - especially not coming from some spiky haired creep with garlic breath who was dressed in a one piece night gown. He moved forward and head butted the guy making him yelp. He moved away and took his opening to run. It was a bad idea. The bigger guy recovered quickly and he was being dragged backwards by his head. Something sank into his gut with all the force of a blunt brick and he crumpled and fell backwards. He had the air knocked out of him again when he was kicked in the ribs. He reached blindly and his hand connected with a limb. It turned out to be his opponent's leg. He pulled hard and his opponent came down. In desperation he forced himself to ignore the pain he was in and he pinned the bigger man and punched him.

A chuckle floated up from beneath him. His scarred opponent merely licked the blood of his lips. What the hell? Was this guy some kind of masochist?

"My turn, little boy." the man sneered.

And with that Jounouchi found there positions reversed. His adversary was kneeling on both of his arms. The rest of his weight was on the boy's chest making it hard to breathe and making kicking his legs useless. He looked up and all he could see was the sky above his opponent's gloating face. Heart pounding and with sweat leaking down his face he struggled futilely.

"Whatcha looking for? Help? It's not coming. Everyone here minds their own business and no one would go out of their way to help an imbecilic little foreign shit like you. The pharoah's men don't patrol here…well not legitimate ones anyway. The ones that we didn't pay off are floating in the Nile and the only real law here are the thieves – and you just pissed off their king. Oh and if you were wondering -" Here he felt knees dig into his left forearm and into his right hand until he thought the bones would snap. "- this is how you pin someone down and keep them there."

"Screw you!" Jounouchi yelled, bucking and kicking.

The color red blazed before his eyes and he felt something in his nose crack. Coughing as blood started to leak down his throat. He choked and spat in the guy's face. He got an amused smile out of that. And an even more brutal punch the head. This time he couldn't keep himself from crying out in pain. His vision blacked for a moment and he reeled from the attack. He lost track of how many times he got hit before he finally lost consciousness.

He awoke feeling like that time he had gotten into that motorbike accident when he was younger. Groaning he tried to move his arms. But they were bound to something. His fuzzy vision slowly came into focus and he realized he was sitting on the floor of a cave. He was trembling and cold. Probably from the lack of clothes. He was not wearing anything with his underwear and his hands were tied around a cracked piece of stone that may have once been a pillar.

"Hey, Bakura, night is falling." murmured an unfamiliar voice. "Shouldn't we throw him some clothes before he freezes? We can't make money off a corpse."

Bakura? No way in hell. The images of another dark eyed, spiky haired person loomed in his memory. The person that Ryou Bakura became the night their souls had been trapped in their favorite duel monster cards. That was impossible. What was this place and what was going on?!

He could barely make out the silhouettes of two people standing in the uneven entry way. Then it came together: a cave. He had been dragged to a cave in the middle of who knows where. Great. Fucking wonderful. If he ever got out of this, he was going to murder Shadi he was going to ram that damn key down his throat.

"Yes, I suppose that would be prudent." replied the other and Jounouchi gritted his teeth when he recognized it as the voice of the man that had beat him unconscious.

"Are you sure you don't want to consider what we discussed before?" asked the first speaker in a low voice.

"I will not do business with those slave trading scum." Bakura answered with a fierce hiss that suggested the subject was closed. "Have a little respect for where you come from, Pynta. Our village was formed by the hands of former slaves and refugees. That is one line we don't cross. Besides, I sent one of our runners back to the village. Have you ever seen clothing like that? That alone will fetch some shekels. Besides, the boy does show some spunk."

The other made a dubious sound. "You think he'll join us?"

Jounouchi couldn't see the smirk but he could hear it in Bakura's voice. "You think he has a choice?"

"He does have a choice!" Jounouchi retorted loudly. "He could choose to challenge you to cut these damn ropes off of him so he could come over there and kick your psychotic, evil, soul stealing ass!"

Both figures turned towards the light of the lamp that was burning in the corner. The second guy had black, spiky hair that was tied into a short ponytail. He had yellow-ish looking eyes and a brass ring in his nose. Both of them barely bothered to conceal their amusement.

"You steal souls now, boss? " Pynta inquired, mock betrayed. "I feel a tad hurt, I must confess. You didn't teach the rest of us how. Didn't even know there was a market for souls."

Bakura snorted in response to that. "I must have beaten him a little harder than I thought."

"I saw you so don't you deny it!" the boy yelled, jerking on the ropes. "Yugi's other self sent your ass to the grave yard ! What the heck are you doing here and why do you have short hair and a scar now?! You take over some other poor bastard's body?!"

Pynta threw his head back and roared with laughter, his gold eyes flashing. "Bakura! Are you sure you didn't find this one in an opium din? This little foreign bastard is completely crazy. Doubt we can use him for the gang, even if he had prior experience. But I'm all for keeping him as a pet."

"Eat shit! No way!"

Bakura knelt so that he was eye level with his captive. When he unsheathed his knife. It was hard for Jounouchi not to show a reaction. He had not missed that thing. Smirking Bakura lifted the boy's chin with the tip of the blade but didn't cut him. The thief king's eyes were glittering with mischief. He tightened his hand suddenly as if he was going to thrust. When he finally got a flinch out of the blonde he grinned knowingly.

"Come on boy…" he began persuasively. "We got off to a bad start, but that was your fault. If I were really the bad type you'd be in the river with everyone else who's ever crossed me, however, due to the fact that you seem young and stupid we'll forgive that. You have guts, which is more than I can say about many of the sorry trash I run into in the trading square. And we'll even let you earn your keep and maybe you'll even end up rich. That's why I spared you. We are little lacking in manpower these days."

"Fucking priest…" hissed Pynta under his breath.

"Pynta." Bakura said in a mock patient voice that was getting an edge. "We don't need to tell our guest everything that's been going on right away now do we?"

The raven haired man scoffed and headed for the exit. "Fine. You have more faith in the fool than I do. Call me when you 're ready to dispose of the body."

He sauntered off into the shadows leaving Jounouchi alone with Bakura and his kinife. But the thief sheathed the dagger and walked over to retrieve something from the corner of the room. He returned and threw what looked like a long, white, patched shirt, a brown sash and some sandals that looked like they were made from reeds.

"Accept my offer." he stated flatly.

"What, to be a thief?" Jounouchi looked ill. "That's what got me into this hell."

A slow smile spread across a Bakura's face. His scars were thrown into a sharper relief by the torchlight. He looked down upon the boy knowingly as if he understood too well. "Unless you're a prince or a noble, hell's a place that none of us ever escape from. But whether it's a tolerable hell is up to each individual. If you can't defeat hell, then take control of it. Know this: if you go back out there on your own you'll end up dead within a fortnight – if you are lucky. If you are unlucky you'll be sold into slavery or starving. And joining us is the only way you are leaving here alive. _Now choose_."

There was no way out that Jounouchi could see. The last time he'd been in a situation like this was when he was facing down Hirutani. Yugi was not coming to save him this time. Had anyone even noticed he was missing yet? Bakura was right. He was dead if he tried to tackle this place alone again. But to give into this prick…Kaiba had already nearly succeeded in breaking his pride once. And now the universe was handing Bakura a go. And Shadi had said something about judgment. Was this what he meant?But he was not nearly ready to die yet. And if it got him home in time to see Shizuka with perfectly healed vision, then he was just going to have to put pride aside. Shadi could blow him.

He bowed his head, hating himself he muttered in a low tone, "Untie me, I'll do it."

Bakura put a hand to his ear. "Excuse me?"

"I'll do it, damn it!" Jounouchi hollered, glaring up at him.

"Splendid."

Like the bastard didn't already know what his answer would be.

The ropes on his hands were cut and slowly, agonizing, Jounouchi clothed himself. He was still feeling the fight he was in a couple of hours ago and he was sore all over from being tied up. He fastened the sash and tried not to imagine what Honda would say if he could see him in this getup. He had just then noticed something about the thief.

"Where's your ring?" he asked.

The king of thieves simply favored him with a blank look.

"Made of gold. Round. Five sharp looking points. Eye in the middle. Shadow magic. Creepy as hell."

He was suddenly grabbed by his clothes and slammed into the stone wall. He cried out as every nerve ending in his body lit up thanks to his still healing injuries. Bakura's face was an inch from his and his eyes had a dark , intense looking fire in them. Jounouchi was certain he was about to be killed for real this time.

"_How the hell_," he hissed. "_Do you know about those items, boy_?"

Then he heard the sound of what he was sure was a horse neighing and some scuffled footsteps and a painful cry. Bakura threw the boy away from him and immediately spun around, blade in hand. Jounouchi caught the scent of something metallic in the air and Pynta staggered inside with blood all over his clothing.

"Bakura, they tracked us somehow!" his yellow eyes were flashing with bloodlust and he was favoring his right arm. "I took out two of the bastards, but more are coming!"

"Tch. Someone snitched." Bakura growled. "But that's ok, I already know who and he will pay. Fortunately, the fools were misled if they thought they were going to reclaim any of our loot in this location. " He looked at Jounouchi. "You I am not done. Let's go."

"What's going on?" Jounouchi demanded. He narrowly missed a blow that Pynta aimed at him.

"Shut the fuck up and do what the boss says kid!" the man snapped, clearly unnerved. "All you need to know is that the people at our doorstep are no one you want to get caught by."

He followed the two thieves to the back of the cave. He heard the sound of one of them moving something around in the dark and a new passage slowly slide open and moonlight flooded into the cave revealing a switch on the floor that had been hidden inside of a worn straw basket.

They did not get five feet before they were set upon by a group of men armed with spears. Bakura and Pynta had weapons. Anyone in there way got dealt with swiftly. He could not even follow their moves their blades moved so fast. But he could see blood fly through the air. He, however, was not armed. A man moved at him with a spear raised and reflexively Jounouchi ducked, followed it up with and elbow to the stomach and grabbed the guy's spear. The Egyptian looked at the blonde, skinny boy in shock for just a split second and that was the man's undoing. Jounouchi knocked him in the side of the head with the flat of the blade and the man dropped like a stone. But he wasn't ready for the blow that came from behind and knocked him to his knees.

The next thing he knew, he was getting the crap beat out of him – again – by the butts of several spears. He was very sure he would be experiencing a black out for the second time that day when a commanding voice called out, "Enough! He can't fight back anymore, you fools! I wanted them captured, not slaughtered."

His breath was coming in quick and short spurts. He felt the cool sand under him and realized that somewhere in the onslaught he'd curled up defensively. Now hands were reaching for him, pulling him roughly to his feet. These guys wore leather sandals, gold bracelets and the linen around their waists looked a lot finer and cleaner. The also had dark make up lining their eyes. Bakura and Pynta had vanished.

A man on a horse approached and the rider looked down upon him with a very familiar, sneering, haughty look. Jounouchi stared up at the rider in disbelief. It was him but not him. It couldn't be him because it just did not make any sense. He should be used to it by now, but he was just not ready for this new surprise.

"_Kaiba?" _he gasped.

*"Many linger.' (Name for the village.)

*Anyone from the East.

*About 5 dollars in U.S. currency.

Author's note:

Okay, parts of that chapter were hard to write but it was definitely fun. A lot of things happened at once in this chapter. I feel kind of terrible at the same time though. Poor Jounouchi. He got the crap knocked out of him this whole length of this part. I just realized that at the end. *laughs* He really can't catch a break. He's had a miserable time. On the other hand, realistically, as Bakura pointed out: he's kind of lucky to still be alive. From everything I've read Egypt was not kind to foreigners and I made sure on purpose that he didn't blend in too easily.

Don't forget to review and tell me what you think. And thank you for the feedback and encouragement on chapter 1. Until next time!


	3. Chapter 3

The Kaiba clone in the bishop hat looked down on him with cold disdain. He thought Bakura was arrogant but this was on another level. He may as well be a nasty stain on this guy's sandals.

"Kai-ba?" he seemed derisive. "Is this foreigner speaking some sort of new language?"

"Shall I kill him, Priest Seto for addressing you so boldly?" asked one of the guards.

"You can try, you kerchief wearing yes-man!" Jounouchi retorted angrily.

He was really getting tired and not to mention pissed at people just taking license to beat the crap out of him and attempting to murder him. Could he be transported home now? Hadn't he suffered enough for taking some golden scales that hadn't even helped him?

It was possible that he almost saw the shadow of a smile on the priest's face. But he might have imagined it. He recognized 'Seto' as Kaiba's first name. That couldn't be a coincidence. And Bakura couldn't be a coincidence either. He had a very bad feeling. The feeling someone gets when they begin to piece together something disturbing.

"He may know something about the attempt on the palace a fortnight ago." ' Priest' Kaiba said. " I will see to his interrogation myself. Unless -" Here he addressed Jounouchi. "You want to make things easy by telling me everything now. It would seem to me that there is no honor among thieves after all; they've abandoned you."

"Hey," Jounouchi protested. "I'm just some unlucky bastard they decided to drag off. I mean, do I look like a thief? I wasn't even armed when you guys showed up."

Blue eyes searched his face long and hard. But he had no idea what the young man was thinking. Whatever was going through his mind, he masked his emotions. Hopefully, this Kaiba, or Seto, or whatever he was called would be more reasonable than his other version.

"Put him in an oubliette beneath the palace for week." the priest said coldly. "We'll see how much his story changes after that."

Oubliette? What the heck was an oubliette? Seemed liked something he should remember, but he couldn't. With the luck he'd been having, there was no way it was good. So much for priest-boy acting smart. He was just another version of the smug, stuck up, privileged jerk.

"Look asshole, I haven't done anything and you can't just snatch people out of the desert and cart them off to wherever you want! I'm not a criminal!"

That statement was punctuated with a lunge that made two of the royal guard tighten their grip until the youth was on his knees. This was unusual. It's not that he'd seen anger in his detainees before, but this was different. This was not the impotent anger of the man that felt slighted because he was caught trying to break a law that he felt that he shouldn't have to follow – even if everyone else did. Nor was it the rage of one who realized his captors weren't as stupid as he was. And if it was madness, it was a new kind of madness. However outlandish this boy looked, he was speaking coherently and seemed to be fully aware of what was going on around him. No. This was indignation. This was _righteous_ anger. As though he had the right to refuse the royal guard and the high priests anything – it was laughable! He must be an Asiatic. He clearly was not familiar how they dealt with people that disturbed the balance of Ma'at in this kingdom.

"I shall be the judge of that." Seto replied smirking.

_(Several days later…)_

Jounouchi had lost track of time. Funny how being a place that was always dark could do that to you. Funny how much you missed pain medication when you didn't have it too. He had eaten a piece of stale bread earlier. At least, it might have been bread. He was still hungry. It seemed that lately he always was. The bastards made sure that he drank but they never gave him much food. He wondered how bad he looked. He was not a big guy to begin with and now he was on a diet of bread (when they remembered) and water. He lay on a straw mat and sometimes he slept. Other times he tried to think of how to get out. At least when he had the strength to speak. Now he felt weak all the time. He had always wondered why the people of malnourished nations didn't just rise up and kick their government's ass. But now he wondered if they just didn't have the energy. He was tired all the time now. When a person who has never had to do without food suddenly has next to zero, it's easy to see just how much of their strength, their ability to get around could be affected by a few calories.

He tried to run in place. Do exercises. At least if he wasn't eating he could try to maintain some muscle mass. But didn't muscle mass just burn more calories? Wow, had he actually paid attention in health class? He gave himself a weak smile. Well if only his teachers could see him now. How many times had he heard that if he didn't get more serious about school and life he'd end up behind bars? He didn't think it would happen so soon though. And in the same year he had decided to give up on gang life for good.

He thought he saw a flickering light in the distance. Was his mind playing tricks on him? No, someone had lit a lamp. And footsteps were definitely coming nearer to him. A tall figure put a torch into a holder on the wall. The light revealed a familiar haughty face.

"Priest-jerk himself." He meant that to sound a lot tougher, but it came out as a croak.

Kaiba or Seto, whatever he'd stick with Priest Jerk, came closer to the bars and looked down at him with cold, blue eyes. He seemed pensive today. Was he finally realizing how retarded he was? Jounouchi doubted it.

"Are you hungry yet?"he said in an even tone. He made a motion to someone in the darkness and a servant came forward and placed a tray with fruit, some fresh bread and some kind of meat.

"I'm used to doing without." the blonde replied with a cocky grin.

"Really?" the older boy said dubiously. "Stand up."

Jounouchi complied just to show the jerk he was made of stronger stuff than he thought. However, the effect was ruined when he wobbled and stumbled dizzily a few feet until he sank to his knees.

"That's what I thought." said the man with Kaiba's voice. "We don't have to do it this way. Just tell me what you know. If you help me, I will let you eat. You continue to withhold information and I will leave you here to die in your own filth."

"I told you the first day: I'm not a thief!"

The priest withheld an aggravated sigh. He was sure he's never met anyone this stubborn. Most people cracked after the first few days without food. Some simply could not abide the dark and the tricks it played on their minds. What was different about this one? He had watched Jounouchi look around the royal city with expressions on uncontained awe. It was almost childlike. Like he had never been in the outside world, certainly not to Egypt.

"The truth is," the boy surprised him by volunteering to continue speaking. "I have no idea what I'm really doing here. I was in a museum and then all of a sudden I wasn't. I woke up in that weird ass town. And then Bakura beat the crap out of me because I didn't have money – "

"So it's someone calling himself Bakura?" Seto cut him off sharply.

Jounouchi glared at him. "You could let a guy finish."

"You could be less impertinent to a high priest."

"You could stop expecting everyone to fall over and kiss your boots!" Jounouchi snapped.

"Boots?"

"Never mind." He rubbed his head feeling a headache coming on. "The thing is, he kidnapped me and stole my clothes. Then he told me he needed more people and when I refused he threatened to kill me. I thought that you people would be the good guys, but that's a real hoot."

This was getting nowhere. Not only was the boy rude, his speech was strange…. but some of the things he said connected.

"Tell me: what did you mean when you said you don't remember how you got here?" the priest probed.

"You wouldn't believe me." Jounouchi looked rueful. "I sure wouldn't believe me. I'm not even sure I'm from this time period. There was this guy I met and he had something that I, eh…borrowed."

Yes, he'd better watch his words. The people here already thought he was a thief or at least an accomplice to thieves.

"There was an accident." Jounouchi fibbed. "With the erm…thing I borrowed. It sent me here. To this place. That's all I can tell you."

The high priest's eyes narrowed. "What did this object look like?"

"It's made of gold. Scales, like to measure one object's weight against another. There was an eye in the center of its base…"

He stopped talking when he saw how his interrogator's eyes widened. The man's whole body had gone rigid. Then he gained control of himself. He turned to the servant and gave an order that Jounouchi didn't hear. The servant took off running.

Seto stepped closer to the bars, his eyes boring into the foreigner's brown, confused eyes. He could not detect deceit and that's what worried him. He was very adept at rooting out liars. So this boy was either telling the truth or very, very, skilled at deceit. No matter. He would soon have someone on hand that was even better at rooting out the truth than him.

"If you have been misleading me, now would be the time to confess." he said in a steely tone. "Because if I find that you have tried to lie to my face, your blood will run."

Jounouchi struggled not to gulp like some poor stereotypical chump in a gangster movie. The threat was not scary. He had run into plenty of guys that threatened him. It was the fact that he knew the uptight young priest meant every word. He had a feeling this guy could get very cruel if he wanted to.

_Which really is not that different from other-Kaiba. _he thought glumly. Except that Kaiba would have paid goons to take care of him. Jounouchi got the feeling that this Seto guy would enjoy doing it himself.

A few moments later he heard footsteps again and a cowled man appeared. Something glinted in his hand. And with a near scream Jounouchi threw himself backwards.

"Get that thing away from me!" he shouted, pressing as far back into his cell as he could.

Seto merely snickered as the blonde pressed into the wild looking frantic and terrified. Now there could be no secrets. He turned to his colleague with a wicked smirk.

"Priest Shada, thank you for coming." murmured the younger priest. "I need you to use the sennen key to look into this young man's heart. You see it's a matter of innocence and guilt. I need to get to the bottom of it."

Innocence, guilt. Inwardly he could have sneered. Let the gods sort out innocence and guilt. His duty was to the pharaoh and the safety of the realm. All threats should be eliminated. It was that simple. But it was best to placate Shada. And he was genuinely curious as to what power might be lurking in the young foreigner's soul.

As the man came closer with his key, Jounouchi could see that he looked just like Shadi. Perhaps this was an ancestor. It did not make him like this new priest any better, though this guy looked more gentle and serene than Seto.

"Sennen key," the man began with a soft, but confident voice. "Reveal to us what is hiding in this young man's heart."

Jounouchi yelled and sank to the ground as he was blinded by light. He felt strange as though he was leaving his body.

_They are tearing me apart….examining everything…so weak…_

He could see things flying past him as though he was traveling in a speeding vehicle. Him and his little sister at the beach. Getting an empty liquor bottle thrown at him by his father as he screamed at Jounouchi to ask his mother for more money. His initiation into Hirutani's gang. Dragging Honda's broken and bloodied body home. Stealing the puzzle piece, meeting Yugi, arguing with Anzu, learning to duel…

_Not yours to take apart and spy on, damn you…help me…help me someone!_

Suddenly he heard a deafening roar and he was looking into ancient and powerful crimson eyes. Then it went black. But the intruder was gone from his mind. He collapsed into blessed oblivion.

Seto and Shada stood there spellbound as they watched the form of a dragon uncoil itself from the boy's soul - a black, red eyed dragon that hovered over him protectively. Snarling, the dragon shielded its master with one wing and with a sound that shook dust from the ceiling, expelled Shada from its owner's soul.

The tattooed priest fell back with a cry. Seto stooped beside him to help him up. Shada's eyes were wide.

"Did you see the monster guarding that boy's soul?" he gasped in amazement. "It actually banished me from his mind, Seto! I have never seen a monster so powerful in mere common boy!"

"And those images that we saw." Seto pointed out shrewdly. "He is indeed from a place very different from here. Did you see those cards that those children were playing with? They looked very similar to some of the monsters we have imprisoned in the shrine of wedju. What can it mean?"

"We must take him to the pharaoh immediately." Shada said, standing. "The other priests must examine him further."

Seto's eyes narrowed. He had vastly underestimated his new find. This boy could be a terrible enemy or a powerful ally. The one that had influence over him would have a very powerful weapon indeed. He did not want the others involved. At least not until the boy was loyal to him.

"I agree, but not yet." he said.

"Seto….?" Shada trailed off uncertainly.

He grasped his fellow priest by the shoulder and looked him in the eyes. "Think about it, Shada! The factions of the court would tear him apart. I trust the others of course, but we mustn't take the risk of too many people finding out about this until we are sure this power is something we can control."

"So what are you suggesting?" the older priest pressed, dusting off his robes.

"To avoid all of that I could use the sennen rod to extract the ka forcibly so that the kingdom could benefit from this new source of power." Seto replied, already knowing he would be refuted.

Shada's eyes narrowed predictably. "We have no way of knowing that drawing a power of that magnitude out of someone wouldn't kill the host. That was not some low level demon. And the boy is innocent, despite his troubled past. That much I did ascertain before I was flung from his mind."

" Then I suggest he remain in my custody. I will learn everything about him and make sure his abilities stay in check until we are certain whether he is an asset or a threat. Obviously, while we are showing mercy, it could not hurt to try and gain his trust."

Shada still looked uneasy. "I do not like keeping things from Pharoah Atem."

There were times when Seto wanted to scream his frustration but he kept his face a mask of calm command.

"Which is why he will be the first one to find out, when anyone finds out at all." murmured Seto reasonably. "But think of all the pharaoh is dealing with right now, especially with the latest attempts at thieves to get into the treasury. And then he has that upcoming ritual to perform at the Nile in a few days. Why dump even more onto him when we are not even sure of what we have found? Lets at least figure out what's going on before we do so that we can present solutions instead of problems. "

Shada considered, and then seemed to accept the logic. Why get the pharoah's hopes up then dash them if things did not go according to plan.

"I want you to inform me immediately if he shows any signs of being dangerous or losing control." Shada stipulated.

"Of course, my friend." Seto smiled. Then he clapped his hands.

The servant from before appeared. "Yes, Priest Seto?"

"I want you to get two more or however many servants you need and clean this youth up and see to all his injuries." he ordered. "Then I want him made presentable and brought back to me."

Shada looked surprised. "What are you planning to do?"

"As you said, he was found innocent." the brown haired priest replied. "There's no need to keep him here. No, I think I shall take him into my household. He shall be my new personal servant."

Author's Corner:

Well it would seem that now Jounouchi is at least deemed important enough to live – for now. About time he caught a break. This beginning to be difficult to work on, but rewarding. I have a few ideas though. Seto is kind of a self-serving bastard isn't he? But Kaiba loves power and I don't think Seto would be different.

Oh geez, I'm yawning. And I have to proofread this. *falls over* Well I gotta clear my head first, so I'm off to play Skyrim. I cannot wait to buy all of the new DLCs coming out this month.


	4. Chapter 4

Priest Seto was awakened out of his deep sleep by a sound that could be describes as nothing less than bloodcurdling.

"I'm not going to leave, I'm not going to run away – don't hit me!" The strangled sound was coming from the writhing form that now slept at the foot of his bed. He had witnessed the boy having nightmares but he must have been dreaming up something worse than usual because he had never been so loud. Two of his personal guards poured into the room, spears at the ready.

"Lord priest!"

"It's nothing. Get out." Seto said, curtly.

He walked to the reed mat that lay by the foot of his bed. It had only been the second night that his new servant had slept in his house and he was already beginning to wish he'd left him in the house of healing for another week. But Isis had declared him fit to be transferred out.

"He'll need time to recover." the priestess had told Seto. "If you really did not find this foreigner out in the desert ruins, then there's a good chance he contracted something nasty that didn't agree with him. Keeping him in a dark damp place with minimal food did not help things. But the fever is gone. Anything else he has is bacterial and will go away if he's kept on the medicine for another week."

"What of the scars you found on his body?" he asked, nonchalantly.

"Old wounds." she replied. "All of the fresher ones are healing well."

"And he has stopped vomiting?" Seto prompted, trying to hide his squeamishness. He was _not _going to bring sickness into his house.

Isis gave him an exasperated look. "Yes. But start him on solid food slowly." Her look turned quizzical. "Why are you doing this?"

If anyone but a colleague had questioned him, they would have found themselves regretting their audacity. Unfortunately this was Isis and he did not like the amused look in her eye.

"What do you mean?" he countered irritably.

"Well…it's not like you." she said frankly.

"I made a mistake by imprisoning him and so it is just that I make it right." he said smoothly. "I am simply keeping the balance of Ma'at. Nothing more."

"I am glad to hear it; the people need examples such as that to follow from their priests." But  
Isis still didn't look convinced. And she still looked like she was trying to conceal her mirth, blast her. Probably thought he was going soft. Fine, she could think what she wanted as long as it was not the truth.

"I know you don't want my opinion." she began.

_But I'm going to hear it anyway_, he thought with a scowl.

"But I am glad you are taking him in. A boy your age might do you some good. You spend too much time in isolation."

"I do not need to be entertained like a child." he bristled. "And I'm taking him into my home because I need a servant, not a friend. And now I have duties to attend to. I have to get cleaned up for the afternoon ritual."

The priestess merely shook her head as Seto stalked off. Like her, he was one of the youngest to serve under the pharaoh. Yet he was determined to act as though he was nearing his fortieth year instead of his nineteeth. In other words, Priest Seto really needed to loosen up.

* * *

"Enough!"

Jounouchi was awakened by a toe in his ribs and a sharp voice. He was grateful nonetheless. He had not had a nightmare about his father in a while and he had not missed it at all. It had actually been a while since the old man had dared to touch him except for when he was _really_ drunk. As he had grown bigger he'd learned to fight back. He owed part of that to meeting Honda. But it didn't erase bad memories. And it didn't mean he liked hitting his Dad. Most of the time he just left the house.

His eyes opened to reveal a dimly lit room. Torchlight flickered off of white limestone. A few jars that were inlaid with something blue sat against the walls. And Jounouchi noted that there were even structures that looked almost like modern fold up stools. Certain parts of the walls had been marked with pictures and hieroglyphics. A nice house, even by ancient standards. He groaned when he tried to move. His body was sore and he was lying on some kind of mat that had something soft strewn over it.

He gave a start when he looked up and saw the Priest Jerk himself glaring down at him. Maybe he was having another nightmare. He closed his eyes tightly and then opened them again. No such luck. He was still there. He struggled to sit up.

"I wouldn't move too fast." The priest had to smirk at the boy's show of energy. "You were malnourished from being in prison and then you were very ill."

"Where am I?" Jounouchi asked.

"My villa near the Nile." Seto replied.

"Why?" the boy looked fearful. Good. He knew who was in charge at least.

"Because I have decided to make you part of my household." he replied, squatting beside the blonde so that they could speak more comfortably.

"Why?" he asked again, a note of confusion and apprehension in his tone.

"Because what else will you do?" Seto snapped growing annoyed. "And servants don't usually question their masters."

"What do you mean what else will I do?" Jounouchi demanded, a rebellious spark in his eye. "I didn't agree to be anyone's servant!"

Seto quelled that spark with a prompt, "Ok. My mistake. I had no idea you had an occupation and a place to go. Off with you then."

Jounouchi stared at him with wide eyes. Crap. Maybe he should have thought that through better. But he was not about to admit to defeat to this guy. That would be like admitting defeat to Kaiba, if there was even a difference really, and that was so not happening.

"Look," Seto said making an attempt to be kindly. "Think things through before you run off and do something rash. You could have a lot worse fate than ending up in the service of a priest of the pharaoh. Most Asiatic boys are shipped off to the army to guard the border – I doubt you find that appealing. I've treated your wounds and allowed you to recuperate in my home. You have clean clothing and a place to sleep. In a little while it will be dawn and we can have a meal. Think it over while you eat."

There was no way in this life or the other he was letting the vessel of the black dragon get away. But it would be best if the boy chose to stay with him. Besides, judging by the dream he was having perhaps home was not so appealing. Perhaps he worked under a harsh master. Perhaps his family beat him. With the blonde's attitude, Seto would really not be shocked to find that assessment accurate. All he had to do was make life here seem more worthwhile. And really, that couldn't be much of a challenge. This boy was clearly a peasant.

"Yeah, well…" the boy began peevishly. "It's your fault I got sick."

"Perhaps." Seto didn't deny it. Nor, Jounouchi noted, did the bastard look very repentant. "Though I wouldn't be surprised if you caught something from those vile thieves. But I think saving your life makes us even. You don't understand the situation that the priests are currently facing. In my place, you would have acted the same."

Jounouchi gave him a quizzical look and so Seto elaborated. "The thieves had only recently gotten bold enough to attack the palace. In the last several months there have been several attacks on the valley of kings."

"That's where the royal dead guys are buried, right?" the blonde asked, squinting.

"Yes." the priest said after a pause. He still couldn't get used to this youth's way of speaking. "Mahaado has only barely been able to hold them off."

"I still don't get why you didn't just toss me out on my tail." The boy hugged his knees and looked up at him doubtfully. "The present-day you would probably have."

Seto's eyes narrowed. "Present-day. I don't get your meaning, boy. Have we ever met?"

He knew they had not. He would have remembered someone who looked like they had hair of spun gold. Whatever else could be said about the cold and distant priest, he appreciated beauty. That's why he had instructed the servants not the shave the boy's head.

"It's complicated." the foreign boy replied, looking uncertain. "I could tell you everything, but I'm not altogether sure how you'd take it. I told you; sometimes I don't even believe what's happened. I keep thinking I'm in this bad dream and I'm going to wake up soon."

Jounouchi gave a start at the soft touch on his shoulder. The priest was smiling and this time it didn't look like a smirk. "Lately, I'm prone to believe the unbelievable. And perhaps your dream is getting better. Come. Help me dress and then we'll have breakfast. Afterwards, I'll dismiss the servants and you can tell me everything."

"Seriously?" Jounouchi quipped. "You guys can't dress yourselves?"

He thought Seto might crack a smile. He seemed a little bit nicer than Kaiba, but the guy's face was stone.

"Is there a problem?" the priest asked coldly.

"Well, it just seems like something you wouldn't need help with." the shorter boy pointed out. "I mean even kids dress themselves." He gawked. "You really don't dress yourself?"

"You are implying that it is a task so simple that anyone could do it?" Seto's eyes matched the ice in his voice.

"Yeah!" Jounouchi said, pleased that he seemed to agree.

He was promptly smacked in the face with some kind of gold collar. What the hell? The guy was all friendly a minute ago and now he was flinging crap at him.

"Then you are mentally and physically competent for this task. The rest of my clothing is in the chest by the wall."

And that's how a few minutes later Jounouchi was helping someone who was probably older than him get dressed. And in his opinion it was the stupidest thing he'd been asked to do by someone that had perfectly good and functioning hands of their own. But he probably wouldn't get fed until he agreed.

_Well the guy let me sleep here…I guess if this is all he wants, I'll dress his dumb ass._

"Oils are first– what are you doing?!" the young priest griped.

"I'm not familiar with this kind of stuff!" the boy protested. "Give me a break, I'm trying. What do you mean oils first?"

"I mean, that before you start to help me with my clothing you have to rub oil on my body." Seto said through gritted teeth. He was tempted more and more by the second to flog the living daylights out of him. But that would probably not be advisable as the boy was still weak.

"Say what?" Jounouchi said in a panicked voice. He did not just hear some guy ask him to rub oil all over him.

"Start with my back and torso. Then you can work your way towards my arms." Seto instructed struggling to maintain his patience.

"What is this, an ancient tanning lotion?" he asked, gingerly rubbing some of the scented oil from the pot between his fingers.

"Yes." the priest replied after Jounouchi had explained what tanning lotion was. "It is a hot climate; we need to protect our skin. You have probably had some applied to you as well while you were in the house of healing."

It was lost on him what the boy meant by 'ancient'. This was the best oil that could be supplied. You would have to be of high station to afford it. But the blonde was giving him a dubious look.

He sighed. "In your home country, do you not take care to shield yourself against the sun?"

"Well….yeah." Jounouchi admitted, but we usually only worry about when we go swimming. "Most people don't stay outside long enough to worry about it."

His stomach growled. Sighing in defeat he rubbed the oil together in his hands and began applying some to Seto's back. He was just going to have to get it over with. Anything to speed them to breakfast. He tried not to envy the toned muscles running down the older boy's back and arms. Now that he thought about it though, he had not seen a fat person yet. People were either skinny, like the ones that lived in the village or lean and toned like this. He thought a rich guy like Seto would have a little bit of stomach pudge or something. Egyptians either had high metabolisms or just took care to keep themselves in good condition. He began to worry a little bit about what he was going to be fed. He wished for the thousandth time that he had never gotten the bright idea to travel to museum and had taken up Yugi on his offer. He could really use that burger now. And he wouldn't be in this mess.

After he'd applied the sufficient amount of oil to the Egyptian's skin, he got through helping him dress without much grievance even though he had to be instructed on what tied where and what went on first.

"Um…do I have change my clothes?" the boy asked uncertain. He was wearing a simple white outfit made with linen and no shoes.

"No, that will not be necessary today." Seto replied. "I had not planned on having you do much more than this until you recovered fully. Besides, it seems that you have no idea what duties are expected to come naturally to a servant. What was your occupation in your native country, anyway?"

Besides, as far as Seto was concerned they had much more important matters to deal with. He knew this youth would have quite a fascinating story to tell and he had other servants to see to the rest. Then the boy said something that shocked him.

"I don't have a job yet." Jounouchi admitted. "I'm still in highschool."

"You don't work _at all_?" Seto was incredulous.

"I did have a part time job once." the boy defended, looking earnest. "But then our school really started cracking down on us for it. Stupid bastard teachers…said it took away too much time from studies and cram school. Like hell I would want more school after already suffering hours through regular school." Jonouchi shuddered. "Besides, you think I wouldn't love to have a job? Then I could make enough money to move out of that dump my Dad keeps us in."

The priest looked at him contemplatively. "So the education in your country is taken seriously then?"

Maybe he was wrong. Maybe this boy was not a peasant if he was going to school. But he didn't act like someone used to servitude either. There was something refreshingly free about this foreign boy. He wasn't sure he liked this independent streak though. This situation only benefited him if the blonde realized that he needed Seto if he was going to survive here.

"You have no idea." Jounouchi replied, looking depressed.

"Then you must not have been pleased with your living conditions." Seto probed, though he tried to seem indifferent. "For someone whom society doesn't expect to work to seek work you must have been anxious indeed to change the state of things."

The present day teen was not altogether certain how he felt about the young priest's perceptiveness. He was not comfortable talking about his personal life. Honda was the only one who knew him that well. He didn't even discuss his home life with Yugi.

"You could say that." he admitted, cautiously.

Seto was not pleased with the evasive answer, but he knew that pushing would not get him anywhere. It was of course, futile to hide anything from a priest of the sennen items. Almost all of the sennen wielders were endowed with abilities that enabled them to spy on the secrets of the soul and to root out hidden truths. However, using that gambit would probably not foster good will. He had seen back in the oubliette how frightened the light skinned boy was of those items. The boy's stomach growled again, breaking his chain of thought and almost making him smile – something he didn't do that often.

"Follow me." he said to his new charge.

* * *

He had never seen anything quite like it: dried beef, dates and grapes were disappearing into the boy's mouth at an alarming rate, though the boy didn't seem to favor the bread very much. He had exclaimed so loudly with delight that beer was included in the meal that Seto worried his personal guard might come running again. In fact, the blonde boy enjoyed the beer very much. He also seemed overjoyed at being allowed to partake in it, as though it was a privilege he didn't often get. The priest couldn't work that out since beer was a normal part of the diet of every man, woman and child in Egypt. One would swear the boy had been offered _wine_.

He had not really touched much of his own breakfast as he had been staring in utter horror at his new servant, hoping that this was just a temporary reaction to malnourishment and not how he ate all the time. About a year ago the farmers were complaining about how destructive the locusts had gotten and were petitioning the priests for extra spells to protect their fields. He remembered how annoying it had gotten. A pity he hadn't had the boy on hand then – he could have loosed him on one of the storage houses or granaries and shown them what a real plague was. At the rate he was drinking the beer he had better ask some questions while the boy was alert.

"I hadn't had the opportunity to ask your name." Seto murmured.

"Jounouchi Katsuya." the blonde piped proudly from across the low table. "Everyone calls me Jounouchi though."

"And tell me again how you came to be here in this realm, Jou…nouchi." the priest prompted, stumbling over the strange name.

Amazingly, the boy separated himself from his food and launched into a story about his arch rival. Even as practiced as Seto was at remaining unreadable he found it hard not to show his incredulity at the boy's description on these duels with 'cards'. He explained how his attempt to find a new direction had led him into contact with the sennen scales and how he'd fallen in with the thieves.

Jounouchi appreciated that the young priest looked too shocked to interrupt. Well, he couldn't blame the guy. He'd be impressed too if he'd just met one of the top duelists in the country. Yep, he was pretty awesome. And, since Seto was such a good audience, he decided to tell him the tale of Ryou Bakura's crazy other self and how he'd almost pissed himself when he met Bakura here. Anyway, it was a good story. It deserved telling. After all, he'd seen the actual card grave yard in the shadow realm and lived to tell about it. Or maybe the beer was just making him talkative.

Seto listened intently as the boy talked about his friends and he noticed the change between how happy he was speaking about them in contrast to talking about his family. He apparently had strong ties to them and the amount of affection and loyalty in his voice was apparent. No matter how fantastic the rest of Jounouchi's tales were, he'd be able to tell he was sincere about his comrades. He wouldn't have even needed the rod to tell him that. And as for the rest of the story, even if he decided to dismiss it as lies or madness, how else could one explain what he and Shada had found inside his mind?

"And Kaiba, that jerk, he looks like you." Jounouchi was starting to look tired now. "No offense. It's so weird though. You look like him and you sound like him. Maybe you're like some long lost ancestor. Though don't ask me to make sense of it. I'm not the expert on bizarre. That's Shadi. He looks like your buddy with the sennen key. He's a jerk too though."

Jounouchi yawned. The aftermath of his sickness meant that his body was not all the way recovered and the food and beer had probably contributed to his need to suddenly pass out. Seto had his cheek propped against his fist and seemed to be contemplating something. He really wished the guy would say something. It was getting kind of unnerving.

He felt a wave of relief and gratitude when the priest finally said, "You should lie down for the rest of the day. Isis said you were still recovering. The last thing that needs to happen is for you to slide into a relapse."

He was glad that the Egyptian had not asked him to do anything else. He couldn't believe he'd burned up so much energy just helping someone get dressed and moving to the dining room.

"How sick was I?" he asked, pausing by the doorway.

"Your body was burning with fever when I brought you to Isis." Seto replied. "Your body also had a hard time keeping food - it kept rejecting everything in an effort to cleanse itself."

"Geez." Jounouchi winced. "I must have been really out of it."

"You would have died." Seto stated flatly, hoping Jounouchi got his meaning.

Jounouchi scratched the back of his head in a show of awkwardness. "Well um….thank you, for making sure that I didn't. Is Isis the pretty girl with the long black hair? I thought I was just dreaming of that."

"She is a diviner and a healer." Seto murmured. "You owe her your speedy recovery as well as your respect as one of the pharoah's seven. She is a priestess."

"I see."

Seto noted with impatience that the boy was still looking embarrassed. He seemed to be grappling with something to say. He may not be used to owing gratitude. Or maybe he just wasn't comfortable owing a debt.

"Go to your bed. You can say whatever you want to say to me when I see you again in the evening."

"All right, all right but let me say something or I might never say it: no one ever goes out of there way for me outside of my friends." Jounouchi said earnestly. "So, what you did…that was no small thing. You didn't have to do it, I don't know why you did it, maybe you are nicer than your double…but it doesn't matter. I…just…thanks."

Then the boy bowed low, which surprised Seto to say the least, and he scurried off towards the sleeping chamber. The Egyptian sat there feeling a bit shocked. Maybe it was because it was the first form of respect the boy had willingly shown. Not that he was unused to that as a priest and important part of the pharoah's council. Something about it just felt more genuine. It wasn't forced or staged. It was something someone freely gave. And for the first time, it wasn't just because he was Priest Seto. Strange, he hadn't felt that way since he was young boy before he made his way to power and his position.

Author's Note:

Long chapter. But that's a good thing, yes? I tried to finish this last night but my brain was mush. (So I made notes on the chapter and played Skyrim instead.) Still I didn't close the chapter like I expected to, but I think I closed it better. I am so glad to not have to go to work today. Or I might not have finished this until this evening.

Well it's almost that time that I go looking for food. See you all in the next chapter. Thanks as always for your reviews, follows and favorites.


	5. Chapter 5

Jounouchi was somewhat getting used to life in Seto's house even if the first week had not been fun. He had been learning from one of the older servants what keeping up the garden around the villa entailed and he had learned the hard way about how harsh the sun got in the Egyptian high noon. He had gotten some nasty sun burns that had frightened the priest. He had ordered Jounouchi to cover his head when he went out from now on and to spend the rest of the week doing inside chores and running short errands in the morning. Apparently, he'd have to be introduced to the sun slowly. By the end of the week his skin was beginning to slightly bronze.

He thought that house work would be easier. In some ways it was. In other ways not so much. He would not miss the chamber pots. Egyptian's recycled everything apparently. Waste was dumped into pots and carted off to the fields where it would be used as fertilizer. He mentally noted that if he ever picked anything off of a vine or anything that could be grown from the ground, no matter how clean it looked he was washing it thoroughly.

He also learned why people in Egypt drank so much beer – because it was safer than the water. When he had asked Seto about the rivers the priest had simply given him a look and then calmly asked why he wanted to drink something that animals swam and crapped in. There was a well on the priest's property, but even then it was boiled first. Milk was a delicacy and had to be drunk right away before it went bad. Besides, beer was considered to be medicinal and from what Jounouchi had been told it was a gift from the god Osiris who was believed to have created it. All and all maybe ancient peoples had got a few things right. God believed in beer for all. Jounouchi just might turn religious. Despite how badly the first week had gone, in many ways these guys were not half bad.

Of course he still worried about going home. He missed Yugi and Honda and though he'd never admit it, even Anzu. He couldn't say he missed living at home. Sure, Seto's house may have been something out a museum and he missed air conditioning and actual toilets, but he'd still take it any day over living with his Dad. He wasn't treated badly – none of the servants were as long as they worked. He didn't get to talk to them much though. There were only a few on the actual property, but most of them stayed busy. Also, the priest was not starving his servants. He was generous with the food. And though Jounouchi wouldn't call him affectionate, he kept everyone well clothed and generally made sure his servants were comfortable. Jounouchi wondered if all Egyptians were like that or if it was just Seto that kept this standard.

He walked to the market place dressed in a simple tunic and with his bright hair covered. A guard went with him on these trips. For one, he still did not understand hieroglyphs so the lists that he was sent with were often times incomprehensible. And two, he suspected that it might have been for his own safety. He did kind of stand out and he had learned upon his arrival that not everyone liked foreigners. Grudgingly, he had to admit the priest was a pretty decent guy. Not that he'd seen him much this week. The problem's he'd described to Jounouchi over their first evening together were apparently not getting any better and all of the guardians were pretty busy.

He arrived back at the villa and set the various produce he'd been ordered to pick up in the storage chamber. He wiped the sweat away from his forehead with the back of his hand. Noon again. Great, another fun filled afternoon of being cooped up. He walked back into the sleeping chamber and pulled a bottle of that oil out that he had now become used to applying to Seto daily. He tossed his shirt and rubbed it over himself best he could before redressing and heading outside. He needed to get out before he went nuts. And though Seto had instructed him not to go out on his own yet, screw that. The guy took off every morning, shot him the fish eye every time he asked him anything about his job and dumped his laundry and grocery shopping on him without so much as a thanks. He was going for a walk. What could happen?

He had only walked a few yards when he saw something shine in the distance. The sun? No…it was in the opposite corner of the sky. He looked over his shoulder. No one was watching. He grinned and took off towards the source of the light. There it was again! Oh…crap…and it was coming this way. However it was not that that made Jounouchi's jaw drop. It was a duel monster drifting across the sky. And not just any duel monster.

"No way….that's Yugi's monster." he gasped, unable to believe what he was seeing.

This monster didn't look as defined as it did on the modern day card, but it was definitely the silhouette of the Dark Magician.

"Hey!" he yelled as he watched it speed away. "Wait!"

He sprinted after it but never paused and never slowed down. It seemed to be moving with a purpose. And boy was it not a pleasant experience running in that heat. He was about to wonder if he should give up when he saw it disappear at the top of some kind of structure. Stopping for a minute he wiped his bangs that were wet with sweat now out of his face. Then determinedly he made his way towards the steps. At the top he could just make out someone.

Mahaado greeted his soul creature with a warm smile. "Welcome back my friend. Thank you."

The magician bowed and disappeared. He started when he heard someone making their way up the stone steps. "Mana, is that you?"

But it was a youth that stumbled his way to the top of the platform. The boy collapsed to his knees. A few strands of unnaturally bright hair were sticking out from under his head dress. Alarmed, the young guardian stepped forward.

"Who are you?" he demanded in an official voice. "What would bring a civilian to the magician's training grounds? Do you bring me news from one of the other guardians?"

The boy looked up at him, his face red with heat and huffed. "W-water….gonna pass out."

Mahaado uncapped his wine skin. The boy made a face. He might not have liked the taste, but most likely it was because it was warm.

"Thanks….I was chasing a duel monster." the young man said. He handed the wine skin back and stood.

"A what?" Mahaado asked. Maybe this youth had been out in the sun for too long.

"The dark magician!" the boy said. "You had to have seen him come up here!"

"My illusion magician?"

Jounouchi blinked in confusion. Well actually now that he thought about it that duel monster was a little different. The dark magician had more personality to it, more defined features. This creature was more like a shadow. Come to think of it, 'illusion magician' suited it.

The man before him had tattoos beneath his dark blue eyes and a serious expression that looked oddly familiar. But Jounouchi couldn't place it for some reason. Why did he feel like he knew this guy?

"You must have been following the guardian monster that is linked to my ba." the young man said.

Jounouchi recalled Shadi saying something like that. How the 'ba' was a person's soul. He felt like that conversation was a hundred years ago . Heh. Well technically it would be a hundred years into the future.

Then he saw it. Plain as day around the young man's neck. The sennen ring. That was all he needed to see. He should have started booking it yesterday. He took a step back. He felt ashamed. He prided himself on not being one to run. But he had had about enough of the sennen items to last him for this lifetime and the next. And it had to be that damned ring too. So Bakura must not have always owned it. Whatever, he didn't care or want to know. He was leaving.

Mahaado noticed the change come over the boy when he saw the ring. He frowned. It was one thing to be respected, but fear was not respect. He knew the difference. He didn't serve any purpose by having the people he swore to protect be afraid of him.

"Wait a moment." he said. "It's not every day a regular citizen comes here. You're not in any trouble for being lost. Is there some way I can assist you? "

Jounouchi studied the guy's face. He couldn't detect anything but concern in the man's eyes. Despite the ring he seemed like a nice enough person. That still didn't mean he was all that comfortable with being around someone who carried it though.

"Nah, I know the way back." he replied. "I only followed your magician guy because I was curious."

"Curiosity is not a sin." Mahaado smiled, hoping to put the youth at ease.

"Why was something that's attached to your soul floating around the desert?" the teen asked.

Since unlike Seto this guy was receptive to questions he may as well ask some.

"I need to send my eyes and ears elsewhere at times."

Ok. That made sense, Jounouchi supposed.

"When you asked if I had news from the other guardians, did that have something to do with what's going on in the valley of kings?" he asked.

At that the young sennen guardian's eyes narrowed with suspicion and Jounouchi wondered if maybe he had gone too far.

"How do you know of that, young man?" Mahaado asked looking grave.

That was not something that any of the citizens were aware of. Who was this foreign-looking boy?

"Seto told me a little bit about it." the blond answered.

The man looked surprised. "You know Priest Seto?"

"I kind of work for him now." Jounouchi said.

"You're a servant? I guess I should have known by your garb."

Jounouchi winced. He still didn't like being referred to as a servant. Still, he guessed it was better than 'slave.'

"I am surprised he told you anything." the young priest admitted. "It's not in his nature to share things with anyone much less someone that would be below his station. He must really trust you."

Jounouchi snorted derisively. "No way. If I didn't nag him he wouldn't tell me anything."

What a strange young man…most servants would know better than to ask. And most would not be inquisitive enough to dare.

"My name is Mahaado."

"I'm Jounouchi." the boy extended a hand.

Mahaado only looked at Jounouchi's extended right hand dubiously. He doubted the boy meant disrespect. Still, he couldn't go around doing that. He reached for his left hand.

"This one." He grasped it firmly for a moment. "And I am called Mahaado."

The teen felt awkward. Things that came so naturally at home were wrong here. He needed to ask Seto mote about the rules of etiquette in this place. At least this guy was good natured about it.

A voice pierced the air diverting his attention from his embarrassment.

"Master Mahaado!"

A girl dressed in clothing he had certainly not seen the other natives walking around in was taking the steps two at a time. She looked closer to his own age and had shoulder length brown hair. She had the same blue eyes Mahaado had and the tattoos below the eyes.

"We talked about being late." the young priest said sternly.

"Sorry!" she had the grace to look sheepish as she halted before he teacher. "I had misplaced one of my spell tomes. I thought there might be something in there that would give us a clue about why the Valley of Kings keeps getting raided."

"Did you at least find it?" Mahaado asked, looking like he was expecting a pending headache.

"Well – no." she admitted.

Joounouchi suppressed a grin as the priest face palmed. The girl seemed a bit goofy, but at least she didn't have a sennen item around her neck.

"But I did find this!" She whipped out a book that was thicker than her waist. "It contains a list of all the artifacts that were passed down to us by the gods before the sennen items existed."

"There could be some that are buried in the valley of kings, however that knowledge is only passed down to the pharaohs." Mahaado looked ponderous for a moment.

Mana noticed Jounouchi and immediately spazzed. "Who's this blond guy? Is he a new student?"

"No, he is one of Priest Seto's servants."

"The grumpy serious one?"

"Mana!"

Jounouchi snorted. Well there was one other person besides himself that wasn't afraid to speak their mind around here at least.

Said grumpy serious one was waiting in the doorway when he arrived back with Mahaado and Mana with a face about as friendly as thunder.

"Uh-oh." Mana said under her breath.

Yeah. That was about right. Jounouchi was never really a poster boy for thinking things through and he had run off after the illusion magician on impulse. He didn't really calculate in anyone noticing that he had left the villa.

"I had guards looking for you." Seto hissed without preamble. He gave a curt nod to Mahaado but never took his eyes of the boy.

"I was partly to blame." Mahaado said. "The boy spotted my magician and he followed. He has told me that he is not from Kemet. It must have been a surprise to see our magic at work."

"And he wasn't even that far away!" Mana piped up. But she fell silent when Mahaado shot her a quick glance.

"It hardly seems relevant!" the young priest snapped, not a bit placated. "I told you not to leave from here by yourself and you _blatantly _disobeyed!"

What had actually happened was that the guard that had been with Jounouchi that day had come running to him during a meeting of places and whispered in a panicked tone that the boy had disappeared. Seto was not an advocate of beating servants but he was seriously considering it. It was bad enough that anything might have happened to the youth. Mahaado and his annoying apprentice knew of him now and who knows what he had told them. The training grounds! Anything there could have triggered the power sleeping within Jounouchi's ba. That would have been a disaster.

Mana was impressed that Jounouchi only looked annoyed and stubborn instead of scared. Even she'd have been quaking if Priest Seto were glaring at her like that.

"I wasn't even planning on going anywhere!" the blonde snapped exaggerated. "I just wanted to go outside. Then I saw the magician and –"

"You what?" Seto retorted. "Decided to follow a creature that you had no way to be sure was not malicious? Are you some kind of idiot? Did they not practice caution where you are from?"

"Don't call me an idiot, Priest-boy!" Jounouchi shouted, shocking both Mahaado and Mana. "Maybe where I'm from real men don't cower, they take action! And if I could find my way back there I'd be there now instead of stuck here where people try to kill me and the sun hates me and I get left here in this house alone for hours doing all the crap you can't be bothered to do yourself!"

Mahaado would have usually been embarrassed to see what would be considered a private affair between master and servant but some tiny weak part of him had enjoyed that. If anything, the look of pure shock on Seto's face would be etched into his memory forever. More so, the boy had not waited to be dismissed and stormed past the young priest and into the house. Mana had basically frozen by his side.

"Ah, Mana, why don't you start heading back?" he suggested. "I would talk to my colleague alone."

Reluctantly the girl started walking away bearing her enormous book. Mahaado figured he was already involved so he may as well try to diffuse the situation. Jounouchi was obviously untrained and not even native to this place and while he couldn't himself agree with the youth's behavior he didn't want Seto to throw him out. He would end up dead on his own.

"When did you start taking on surly foreigners?"

"That is none of your business." Seto answered, predictably cold. "Say whatever you stayed behind to say. I need to deal with my servant."

"He has certainly been disobedient, but I would caution you not to deal with him harshly." Mahaado answered trying to be as diplomatic as he could. "I can tell from the short time I spent with him that he has an amiable and good soul. But I also sensed a lot of confusion and fear. He is not actually striking out at you, but the situation he has found himself in. Perhaps some reassurance is what he needs."

"This is your opinion?" the other priest asked only barely keeping the veil of political politeness up.

Mahaado gritted his teeth. Seto was not his favorite person and he knew that he was not Seto's either. He thought him too idealistic. The sennen rod guardian had never said it but he didn't have to.

"If you want to keep from making the situation worse, yes." he answered, firmly. " I would talk to him before I meted out punishment."

* * *

A drop of water fell from the ceiling on the cave and trickled down the thief kings face. His violet eyes opened lazily. Sometimes it was a curse to be a light sleeper as much as a blessing. He was lying in the cool of one of his older hideouts, resting before the evening. His underlings were all doing the same. He smirked as he reflected on how he had begun recruiting them. Simple thieves with simple wants. It's not that they lacked ambition, they just lacked ambition for the right thing. He knew that more than one of them was not splitting their plunder equally but let them have it. Such petty riches they would spend away in no time. He was after something that would be more lasting.

* * *

"So I was reading about the old gods in this book." Mana said as she and Mahaado walked back to the training grounds. "The ones before Osiris and even Isis."

"The ones that created the all-father?" Mahaado asked. "I commend your interest in our history, but how is this supposed to help?"

"Remember when his children Shu and Tefnut went missing?" Mana asked.

"Yes," Mahaado replied. "The world was new and much was still darkness. He plucked out one of his all-seeing eyes and sent it forth to find them."

"Right." Mana flipped through the pages. "On their return it is said that he wept and his tears created the first humans. Also, another eyes grew in place of the one he lost. The original became known as the Eye of Udjat and was passed down to our first pharaohs. We still see these symbols on the crowns and head pieces of our kings today."

"All true. But where are you leading with this, Mana?"

* * *

Bakura's eyes drifted back shut as a lazy smile appeared on his lips. So much forgotten lore, so much _history_ buried in the resting places of the pharaohs. True power didn't rest with how much you could steal or how much money you could get. Or with raw violence and brute force like so many fools in this land believed. The real power came from those whose faces were carved into the protective amulets that people wore, the ones who had statues of them in the temples.

* * *

"Well whatever became of the original eye?" Mana persisted. "It can't have just vanished from the earth."

"It is probably buried with one of the pharaohs." Mahaado replied. "Telling which would be near impossible since these secrets have always been closely guarded. But why do you wish to know?"

"Well, the sennen items defeated out enemies and brought peace to the land." the girl said. "I just thought that surely there must be other sacred objects that could help."

Mahaado was silent for a long moment. He pondered what his apprentice was saying. Mana was disorganized and sometimes a bit less serious than he would have liked. But there were also times when she was insightful. And this was one.

"I may have to bring this theory to our Pharoah."

"Really?" Mana's eyes widened in surprise.

"Yes," he smiled at his student. "Really. Good work."

Author's note:

Ah, you probably wondered why I fell from the face of the earth. I am sorry for that. There's more than one reason, the first being that though I have a general idea of what's to go on this story is much harder to write than my other one. Another, is because I've been working on my other one. I do intend to try to see this tale through to an ending though.

Amusingly enough I am finishing this chapter from my hotel room. I was on vacation while I wrote parts of this chapter. And I can honestly say vacations just end too soon. I don't want to go home. But as I don't have an endless supply of money, I guess I have no choice.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter.


	6. Chapter 6

Seto walked down the corridors mulling over what a certain nosy colleague of his had said. He was still angry even though some of his anger had cooled. He still had not quite decided what to with Jounouchi. Something had to be done, however. That behavior couldn't go unaddressed. He was not a monster, but he was not a push over either. If the blond thought he could disrespect him openly as he had done earlier he was wrong. He kept the whip in his hand more as a tool to put a little dread into his disobedient servant than because of an intent to actually use it on him. Not that he didn't have the back bone to if he was pushed to it.

He found Jounouchi in the main bed chamber sitting on the ledge of a window. He was facing away from him and his head was pressed into the frame. He looked smaller somehow despite his tall lankiness.

"Jounouchi." Seto said in an even voice.

The boy's shoulders tensed as he drew near. Good. Maybe he would not have to beat him after all. He hoped not. Some areas of the boy's skin were still healing from his first encounters with the sun. He doubted it would be a very pleasant experience. Maybe the boy realized his rashness. He could forgive that as long as the boy admitted his error. After all, he'd had a short temper in his own youth. He still did sometimes. But he wasn't facing him and that would not do.

"Stand and look at me." he ordered in a firm voice.

The boy did shuffle to his feet, but he was looking at his toes. Ugh. It was one thing to show remorse but this cringing attitude was not needed! He reached over and jerked the boy's chin up. His fingers almost immediately drew back as they came away wet.

Jounouchi flinched away, humiliated. The last time he had cried was when he had found out that Serenity might lose her eye sight. And then he had done it away from everyone else. The last thing he wanted was the Egyptian clone of his _arch rival_ to see him like this. He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand waiting for the ridicule to begin.

Seto was taken aback to say the least. But he regained his composure. "Are you sick?"

The awkward question hung in the air as Jounouchi pulled it together – though he already felt like biggest loser in the world crying in front of another guy. Why couldn't Shadi have just done him a favor and snuffed him out?

"It's my fault that I'm stuck here." he said in a shaky voice.

Seto cocked his head to the side, waiting patiently for an explanation.

"I didn't tell you everything." the boy admitted. "That sennen item I told you I borrowed? That was a lie. I took it. I didn't think it through and I acted without thinking. Everything you said was right. I don't think anything through I just act and –everything just gets screwed up!"

Sighing he stepped closer to the teen and motioned for him to sit back down. Jounouchi bowed his head, one arm across his forehead. His form shook and Seto could see that he was having an internal battle not to break into more tears.

"To begin with, I thought it was pretty obvious you were leaving certain things out." the young priest stated smoothly. "I'm not blind. However, I do appreciate that you decided to tell me anyway. You would be wise to tell me whole truths and not half-truths in the future seeing as how I'm probably one of the only people that can possibly help you. So let's agree not to lie to each other Jounouchi."

Looking down at his knees Jounouchi felt a mixture of relief and pique. Seto didn't seem mad or even surprised. But like Kaiba he had to go and be a know it all. He was quiet for a while. Then what he was originally focused on returned to him and he began shaking. He felt a steadying hand on his arm and looked up into a piercing pair of blue eyes.

"What else is wrong?" the Egyptian asked softly.

"What if…what if my punishment is that I really can't go home?" Jounouchi asked. "What if I'm stuck here forever thanks to the stupid thing I did? "

Seto searched the younger boy's face. He really was frightened and feeling guilty about what had happened in his own time.

"I doubt that." he replied in a cool tone. "I think you're here for a reason. There is something that sets you apart from other people, something that the sennen items must have sensed that only you were able to do in this time. Now: did you say anything to Mahaado or his student about this?"

Jounouchi shook his head.

"Let's keep it that way." Seto replied in a carefully neutral voice. "It's been hard enough here on you as a foreigner. I don't agree with the type of thinking that has caused that but people are ignorant. I don't think it would be wise to spread around that you've been sent here seemingly by magic. People get superstitious about that kind of thing."

He wiped his eyes but he was already feeling a bit calmer. Everything Seto said sounded reasonable. He couldn't be much older than him, but Jounouchi felt that this guy had probably had to grow up fast. He sounded mature. He felt a twinge of envy. As much as he hated to admit it, Kaiba had a lot of these same traits. Both of them made him feel like a kid.

"Since it seems you are starting to trust me a bit, tell me: what did you want so badly that you took such a risk by messing with magic that was out of your league?" Seto really was curious. Jounouchi didn't seem like the type that would want to rule the world.

Why did he have to ask that? The blond felt his cheeks heat. Even if looking back it had made sense, now it just felt so ridiculous. "I told you the truth about that part. I really did want to just once be able to beat this guy. He's an arrogant bully and I always try to stand my ground but I can never beat him."

He heard Seto chuckling and glared. "I know it was dumb! You don't have to rub it in."

"Relax, I am kind of impressed you would go that far actually." The priest's smile was genuine. "You must think pretty highly of that person to fight so hard to have them respect you."

"I do not!" the boy balked. "He's douche-baggery incarnate! I just want to beat him for myself!"

"So then it's your own respect you seek." the older boy mused. "A worthy goal."

_Actually thinking of it like that makes me sound kind of cool. _Jounouchi felt a ghost of smile tugging at his lips.

"These duels you say take place back in your time sound very similar to what we guardians are trained for here. " the priest continued. Then with a slight smirk, "Being sent here may be a gift in disguise after all."

* * *

Bakura had not much troubled himself about the fate of the foreign boy that they had lost in the skirmish with the priest's soldiers. But if he had been asked what he thought he would have said the boy was either going slowly insane in some dungeon and on the verge of dying from malnutrition – or just outright killed. This realm wasn't kind to anyone that was different.

When he had heard that the boy had been taken in by one of the pharaoh's own high and mighty lapdogs that had been a surprising bit of news to say the least. What in the world had made that rigid bastard take pity on the boy? Was that arrogant priest going soft? Or was there something more to him than just an idiot outsider in strange clothing?

Even so the youth had known about the sennen items. And he had mentioned the ring in particular. What in the world would someone outside of Kemet know about that? Something about it made thief uneasy. And it was not a feeling he was used to. He was cautious, yes. That's how he'd survived. But for something to unnerve him was unusual.

Well, there was always a solution to that: find out more. Sure he could have gotten a few people within his network of thieves to do the dirty work but since he couldn't place a finger on why exactly it bothered him perhaps it required a more personal touch. He pulled his hood over his face and grinned.

* * *

Jounouchi figured he would eventually get used to people staring at him. Even with his head covered he drew attention. Or maybe it was Seto. Not that if it affected him it showed. He continued to put out the same distant and haughty demeanor.

Yet the guy was only another human. Earlier he was acting almost nice. It was weird. It wasn't the same as having Yugi around. Yugi would have put on a brave face and tried to cheer him up. Seto had just calmly and reasonably broken down the situation then pointed out the logical ways that the situation could pan out. In a way, talking to the guy had been the closest Jounouchi would likely come to confiding in anyone even closely resembling an adult figure in his life. And that pretty sad since Seto was also still a teen even if he was some important priest.

Standing at the top on the square looking structure waiting to greet them was robed man. Jounouchi inwardly flinched when a piece of gold glinted in the figure's eye. The last time he'd seen that thing it had stared out at him from Pegasus's face. He was no more fond of that thing than he was of the ring or so far any of these freaky pieces of jewelry.

Seto noticed Jounouchi's discomfort and said, "He is Master Aknadin. He was my teacher. Usually he wouldn't let anyone get this close to the Shrine Of Wedju, but you're with me. I will speak to him first to see if he will allow you entry."

With that the priest slid off of his horse and strode forward to greet his mentor. It was the first time Jounouchi had seen him look happy to see another human being. He reached the top of the stares and gave the man a respectful bow. Now THAT really was a first. Seto must really respect this guy. Despite himself the blonde felt curious. He watched them exchange a few quiet words until the man shouted down to him in a clear voice.

"You may approach!"

Why did that somehow not make him feel better? He slid of his horse, wincing. His legs were sore from being spread of the flank of a large animal that he was not used to riding. He got a few steps up the temple when the man raised a hand for him to halt. He paused, wondering if he was going to be denied after all. The guardian looked long and hard at him with that gold eye making the teen feel exposed and naked.

"Does he know what's sleeping inside of him?" the man asked Seto quietly enough for only themselves to hear.

"I think not." the younfer priest replied. "He has told me much, but he never mentioned it. Either he really has no idea or he's too afraid to trust me with the knowledge at present."

Aknadin chuckled. "The latter would be understandable. At least you are showing restraint. So how long have you known, Seto?"

Even the prodigy priest had the grace to look slightly uncomfortable admitting that he had hidden this to the man that had taken him under his wing.

"Since the day Shada and I looked into his soul when he was being kept in the dungeons."

"So at least Shada knows." the man grunted. "You have not endangered us all by keeping knowledge of something this powerful to yourself."

Seto flushed. "I had to see for myself what it really was. Whatever it is it appears to be dormant. And the pharaoh and the other guardians already had and still have their hands full."

"And your hands were not, young one?" his teacher asked sardonically. He did not wait for a reply but motioned the blond to come up.

It's not that he did not understand the boy's actions. Not all ambition was evil. And sometimes it was good to save a little but of the glory for yourself – oh he knew that all too well.

Jounouchi approached feeling awkward in his own skin and wondering if he needed to bow as well. The older priest only surveyed him with a closed expression for a moment then he thawed a little.

"Well met, Jou-nouchi was it?"

He nodded.

The priest continued. "Seto has told me about you. You had a nasty run in with some the less savory members of our country. I hope it hasn't tarnished your view of Kemet too much."

Maybe gramps wasn't so bad despite the sennen eye. "Not really. I've met some pretty cool people here too."

Aknadin simply seemed to draw a blank at 'cool.' "I see what you meant about his dialect, Seto."

"Hey, what have you been telling him about me?" Jounouchi asked suspiciously.

"You didn't think I could take a random foreigner into my house as a servant and no one would ask questions, did you?" Seto merely raised an eyebrow. "Anyway, let's go inside. I want to see if anything in the shrine stands out to you."

He didn't think there was anything in this ancient looking building that would be familiar to him. Not that it wasn't impressive or anything. There were a lot of impressive buildings in ancient Egypt. If there was one thing that raised Jounouchi's opinion of human beings was how well they got along with technology. No one could say the human race wasn't tenacious.

Nothing could have prepared him for what he saw when he entered though. Wall upon wall, stacked upon stack of stone tablets lined this humongous structure. And every tablet here had a monster from the card game that had gotten him into this mess.

Seto didn't need much else but the amazed look on the youth's face to tell him that he was right.

"This is so weird." he finally said. He waked up to a tablet that looked like it held the Magician of Faith. Anzu would have a heart attack. It was almost life sized. Then another familiar face caught his eye.

"Time Wizard!" Jounouchi exclaimed.

Aknadin looked nervous – not an emotion that Seto was very used to seeing from him – as the light skinned boy made a bee line for the tablet.

"Jounouchi, even though they are sealed it might not be a good idea to touch them." the sennen rod holder murmured quietly.

"Indeed not." Aknadin said, recovering. "There are very powerful shadow creatures in these tablets."

"It's true then." the blonde mused in wonder. "These guys were actually real one time."

Even his Red-Eyes? He hoped the dragon wasn't sealed in here. True, some of the creatures here looked really terrifying and they probably should be under lock in key, but seeing Time Wizard trapped here almost just felt sad. He didn't think he'd be able to help himself if he saw his dragon here. He'd probably break the tablet and get hauled off to jail again – with no regrets.

He didn't see the Dark Magician though. Or the Blue Eyes White Dragon. Did that mean that they were still out there somewhere?

"Why are all these guys trapped in here?" Jounouchi asked.

"Many are demons that were living in the shadow of the souls of criminals we've apprehended." Aknadin replied. "Better to seal them here than have them wreak havoc in the outside world again."

"And the others?"

Seto sensed some indignation here and Aknadin looked amused. "Well sometimes we use the stronger creatures we seal away to bring back others. That way we have a stock pile of powerful creatures at our disposal to summon to protect our city."

"That's not fair to the ones that were minding their own business!"

Yes, rather indignant. He gave the boy a derisive look. They were just shadow creatures. It's not like they were sealing away human souls.

"I mean," Jounouchi gestured at the tablet. "What did Time Wizard do?"

"You seem to recognize these monsters." The old man observed, sounding surprised.

The boy bristled at being ignored while he was trying to make a point. Maybe he would break in here and free a few of these guys.

"They aren't suffering, Jounouchi." Seto said rationally, trying to calm him. "But some sacrifices need to be made to keep Kemet and the Pharaoh safe."

The boy shot him a stubborn look. Ugh. He was young. Maybe he'd outgrow this softness of heart.

* * *

The Thief King should have been annoyed but he was only pleased. He hadn't tailed someone that had been this much of a challenge in a long time. When he figured out where he was following them to he knew he would not be able to get very close to them. But at the same time it confirmed his suspicions. The boy was not just a regular servant to the young priest. Not if he was being allowed to enter the shrine of the tablets. Now _that_ was a place he'd have to plunder one day. But such ambitions would have to wait. There were other bridges to cross.

And besides, this same day he had finally received the lead he needed. It was time to visit the Valley of Kings again. But this time it was more than just a taunt to the young soon to be pharaoh. This time there was a goal. And the payoff would be sweet.

Author: Well you guys wanted an update, here you go. I'm sorry this was more of a character building chapter than anything. Hopefully I can make more happen next chapter. Hopefully I can finish some of the other stuff I'm working on too. (Because I'm nuts and do too many things I love at the same time.) I think it's time to make Bakura throw a wrench into things.

At least I finished this before hell week at work...I wish I loved my job as much as Bakura loved his. (cries)


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